Loss of HP puts end to Wal-Mart's video download store

By Ed Oswald | Published December 28, 2007, 12:10 PM

The retailer decided to silently walk away from its planned video download service after HP ended its participation.

HP was providing the back end to the service, but apparently the company felt it was not getting enough of a return and decided to stop offering it. From there, Wal-Mart just decided to end the service altogether.

While exact figures on video downloads from Wal-Mart's offering were not available, from the sudden closure of the service December 21, it's fairly clear they weren't substantial.

Wal-Mart used a feature from HP that was intended to help retailers set up online video stores. However, HP said that the market did not perform "as expected," and the decision was made to end the offering.

Other than Wal-Mart, some 30 other content providers are now left out in the cold. These companies signed agreements in October that made their content available through HP's service.

Anyone who purchased content from the online store will be able to continue to view their videos, however they will not be able to remove them from the computer they used to originally download them.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Too many players already just merge and build a fast network to support all the downloads and the lawsuits from RIAA.

Score: 0

|

Score: 0

|

Spammer!

Score: 0

|

That is what happens when you charge the same price for a lesser quality digital download as the same movie on a DVD. This business model will NEVER succeed.

Score: 0

|

First Google and now HP/Wal-Mart....

Does anyone still think DRM for video downloads really is a good idea?

Score: 0

|

Or more to the point, is using any kind of service provided by attention deficit disorder HP a good idea?

Score: 0

|

IMHO DRM is not a good idea whether it is applied to video or music. Apparently my opinion isn't worth much since those philistines that ally themselves with the MPAA and RIAA still insist on using it. Walmart isn't much better....serves them that HP pulled out on em.

Score: 0

|

The fact is, the majority of those folks who do not intend to try to redistribute them don't care.

The only ones who care are trying to get something for free.

After all, if you buy them, what do you care????

Score: 0

|

So because I don't like DRM that automatically makes me a criminal eh? Why thank you condemning me for wanting to use what ever codec I want (which happens to be ogg for my music), play my music and movies on what ever player I want and what ever OS I want.

Score: 0

|

Microsoft's Ray Ozzie: 'Nobody's going to be 100% open'

The mobile apps ecosystems of the world may converge over time, led by apps being ported over across platforms, according to the Chief Software Architect.

Will Firefox beat IE9 to Direct2D rendering?

Just days after Microsoft executives gave conference attendees a peek at a new rendering technology, a Mozilla contributor revealed he's working on the same thing.

Where there's smoke: Apple warranty stance raises troubling questions

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: Smoking can be dangerous not only for your lungs, it appears, but for your Apple hardware warranty.

The fallacy of Facebook privacy

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: If an insurance company learns something interesting about its client through the Internet, is that snooping?

Microsoft 'worked with Apple' for Silverlight on iPhone, says Goldfarb

By not making such a big deal out of trying to stream video to the iPhone, Microsoft got a big deal out of it, revealed the Silverlight product manager.

Clicker.com cuts through the Web video chaos

In a world where homemade video and Hollywood movies travel the same pipeline, it's good to have a real search engine to cut through the clutter.

A case study in improving software: What Office 2010 can learn from Notion 3

A music composition product gambles with a complete overhaul, in an effort to make headway against two well-known competitors in a tough market.

Kindle 2 update adds battery life, native PDF reader

Amazon has pushed out an update to the Kindle 2 e-reader that lengthens battery life and adds a native PDF viewer.

Safari on iPhone gets competition from a $1 browser app

Apple likes to say it gives iPhone users a full browsing experience, but a new competitor tries to incorporate more desktop browser features.

Action Replay maker sues Microsoft for Xbox 360 'predatory technological barriers'

Third-party video game accessory maker Datel has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over the Xbox 360's recent Dashboard update.